Control devices usually have many electronic components that are connected to other components outside of the control device. In order to protect control devices from environmental influences or mechanical loads, they are normally installed in housings. So as to still allow a connection to components located outside of the housing, an electric connection from the inside to the outside of the housing is needed.
European specification EP 0 375 271 B1 describes such an electric connection. This connection is provided by a supporting plate onto which conductors are printed. The board thus produced is placed at the connection site between a housing and a cover, and it is sealed off with respect to the housing and the cover by means of molded seals. An electronic component inside the housing is connected via conducting wires to the conductors that are printed on the supporting plate. On the outside of the housing, in turn, conducting wires are soldered onto the printed conductors and these wires allow the connection to a component situated the outside of the housing.
A disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the printed conductors cannot be plugged in, in other words, that they cannot be connected directly to other components via a plug-in connection. For this reason, when printed conductors are used, many interfaces are needed since the conductors on the board have to be connected via additional conducting wires to the appertaining electric components. In this context, each interface constitutes a potential source of error. Moreover, the production of a printed conductor on a board is cost-intensive. Furthermore, the spatial arrangement of the interfaces can only be changed by installing a new board. In addition, the connection of the board to the appertaining electric components via individual conducting wires is vulnerable to vibrations.